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Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas
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Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 15482

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Andrea Pezzuolo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: agricultural and livestock engineering; rural buildings; agro-environmental sustainability; byproducts; biomass and renewable energies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Abdul-Sattar Nizami

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Head of Solid Waste Management Unit, Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Interests: waste to energy; biofuels; pyrolysis; anaerobic digestion; waste biorefinery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Future Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Interests: GHG measurement and modeling; nutrient dynamics in agricultural systems; climate-smart agricultural practices
Dr. Marco Carozzi

E-Mail
Guest Editor
UMR EcoSys, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris Saclay, Thiverval Grignon, France
Interests: GHG emission; air pollution; mitigation strategies; biogeochemical modeling; carbon sequestration; sustainable agriculture; fertilization; crop production; manure management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rural areas play a key role in every country's sustainable development target, and clean production pathways imply eco-efficiency, waste reduction, and the use of renewable resources.

The available biomasses, by-products, and bio-waste represent the primary renewable resources that could be used in multiple eco-friendly ways in both industrialized and emerging economies.

Biomasses are the most abundant and versatile form of renewable energy on the planet earth. However, the irreplaceable role of plant biomass in meeting human needs for food, fodder, fiber, biofuels, and bio-based materials requires good governance and sustainable policies. In parallel, large quantities of agroforestry by-products currently have no market and are destined to landfills. Such by-products are available to be used as bioenergy resources and could be used to replace food crops for energy production. It is worth considering that the energy potential and value-added products from forest and agricultural residues are strongly related to the location and ecosystem services as well as on logistical, technological, economic, and social issues along with availability of end-product market. A large contribution of by-products originating by crop residues and livestock manure and destined to the bioenergy industries are represented by digestate, compost, and biochar. The use of these by-products in agriculture as soil amendments results into effects on air, water, and soil quality, which should be included in the overall assessments of bioenergy chains.

Therefore, bio-waste management in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner is becoming a critical issue to protect the environment and human health. Multiple resources, including bioenergy, biofuels, and other value-added products can be recovered from bio-waste under the concept of waste-based biorefineries or waste-driven factories.

This Special Issue aims to publish research articles dedicated to finding the sustainability of resources, by-products, and bio-waste in rural areas. A special (but not exclusive) focus is put on the following topics:

  • Production, management, and use of bioresources, by-products, and bio-waste;
  • Treatment and processing systems/technologies of bioresources, by-products, and bio-waste;
  • Economic, social, energetic, and environmental sustainability assessment at different spatial scales;
  • Systems/technologies/strategies for mitigating the negative impacts on the atmosphere, water systems, soils, and human health;
  • Use efficiency and sustainability assessment on the supply chains of bioresources.

Dr. Andrea Pezzuolo
Dr. Marco Carozzi
Dr. Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati
Dr. Abdul-Sattar Nizami
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Bioresources and biomasses
  • By-products
  • Biofuels and biorefinery
  • Bio-waste
  • Bioenergy crops
  • Bio-based-products
  • Nonfood raw materials
  • Secondary raw materials
  • Bioenergy technologies
  • Treatments and processing
  • Smart technologies
  • Anaerobic digestion/biomethane/biogas
  • Land-use and landscape modeling
  • Environmental–economical–social sustainability indicators
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • Impacts on air quality, water systems, soils, and human health
  • Mitigation practices/techniques
  • Nutrient recycling
  • Supply chain
  • Agronomic use
  • Carbon storage
  • GHG Emissions
  • Fertilizer value

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3297 KiB  
Article
Effects of Operational Parameters on Biofilm Formation of Mixed Bacteria for Hydrogen Fermentation
by Jie Mei, Huize Chen, Qiang Liao, Abdul-Sattar Nizami, Ao Xia, Yun Huang, Xianqing Zhu and Xun Zhu
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8863; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218863 - 26 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2316
Abstract
Dark fermentation of organic wastes, such as food waste and algae, via mixed hydrogen-producing bacteria (HPB) is considered a sustainable approach for hydrogen production. The biofilm system protects microorganisms from the harmful environment and avoids the excessive loss of bacteria caused by washout, [...] Read more.
Dark fermentation of organic wastes, such as food waste and algae, via mixed hydrogen-producing bacteria (HPB) is considered a sustainable approach for hydrogen production. The biofilm system protects microorganisms from the harmful environment and avoids the excessive loss of bacteria caused by washout, which ensures that the dark fermentation process remains stable. In this study, a downflow anaerobic packed-bed reactor was commissioned to investigate the biofilm formation process of mixed HPB under various operational parameters. Scanning electron microscopy indicated changes in surface morphology during the biofilm formation period. Proteins and polysaccharides in extracellular polymeric substances were identified by confocal laser scanning microscopy to reveal their distribution characteristics. A hydraulic retention time of 0.5 d, a substrate concentration of 15 g/L and an HPB inoculum ratio of 35% were identified as the optimal operational parameters for biofilm formation. The diversity of bacteria between suspension and biofilm showed significantly different distributions; Clostridiales and Lactobacillales were identified as the dominant orders in the biofilm formation process. The abundances of Clostridiales and Lactobacillales were 15.1% and 56.2% in the biofilm, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas)
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18 pages, 2149 KiB  
Article
Farmers’ Attitudes Towards the Use of Biomass as Renewable Energy—A Case Study from Southeastern Europe
by Prespa Ymeri, Csaba Gyuricza and Csaba Fogarassy
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4009; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104009 - 14 May 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3360
Abstract
Among the renewable energy sources, increasing the use of biomass (agricultural by-products) could be important from both an environmental and a climate protection perspective, but in many cases this is not a part of the current practice. Especially in developing countries, a large [...] Read more.
Among the renewable energy sources, increasing the use of biomass (agricultural by-products) could be important from both an environmental and a climate protection perspective, but in many cases this is not a part of the current practice. Especially in developing countries, a large amount of agricultural waste suitable for energy use remains unused, remaining on the arable land or being burned in the field. Complicating matters is the fact that some countries have significant fossil energy reserves. This is also the case in Kosovo, which has the largest reserves of coal reserves (lignite) in southeastern Europe. An important question is how polluting and non-climate-friendly fossil fuels are to be replaced when they are available cheaply and in large quantities. The function of the political and economic models used in Europe has local specificity. It is not possible to copy the good solutions introduced by each country because of differences in the economic systems and farmers. Previous research has paid little attention to the producer conditions for available waste biomass sales. Studies have not examined the sales attitudes of farmers, or under what conditions they are willing to sell a larger proportion of the straw produced—of course, in such a way that they also meet the needs of animal husbandry, nutrients, and carbon supply. Using binary logistics regression and descriptive statistics not yet used in previous research, we analyzed the factors that influence farmers’ willingness to sell, sales barriers, and incentives. According to the respondents, the biggest barriers to selling straw are the lack of a market (74.1%) and baling machines (50.9%), while the main incentives may be a good price (75%) and a guaranteed contract (67.8%). The farmers surveyed believe that, in a safe market, with a multiyear contractual agreement, they would sell more than half of their straw for biomass energy production. The use of straw in animal husbandry is declining due to the introduction of new technological solutions, so the use of straw for energy purposes is an increasingly topical issue in the rapidly developing southeastern European countries as well. Based on our research results, it can be stated that the majority of farmers are willing to sell more than 50% of the amount of straw produced for energy purposes if the business model and state regulations are appropriate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas)
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15 pages, 1804 KiB  
Article
Turning Agri-Food Cooperative Vegetable Residues into Functional Powdered Ingredients for the Food Industry
by Claudia Bas-Bellver, Cristina Barrera, Noelia Betoret and Lucía Seguí
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1284; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041284 - 11 Feb 2020
Cited by 45 | Viewed by 5349
Abstract
Current food transformation processes must face the food waste issue by developing valorization processes to reintroduce by-products in the economic cycle and contribute to circular economy, generating social and economic value, and ensuring permanence of agricultural and rural activities. In the present paper, [...] Read more.
Current food transformation processes must face the food waste issue by developing valorization processes to reintroduce by-products in the economic cycle and contribute to circular economy, generating social and economic value, and ensuring permanence of agricultural and rural activities. In the present paper, the results of a collaboration project between a regional agri-food cooperative and university are summarized. The project aimed to revalorize a series of vegetable wastes (carrot, leek, celery, and cabbage) from the fresh and ready-to-eat lines of the cooperative, by producing functional powders to be used as functional food ingredients. Vegetables residues were successfully transformed into functional ingredients by hot air drying or freeze-drying, and variables such as storage conditions and grinding intensity prior to drying were considered. Twenty-five vegetable powders were obtained and characterized in terms of physicochemical and antioxidant properties. Results showed that drying (mainly hot air drying) allowed obtaining stable powders, with very low water activity values, and a significantly increased functionality. Vegetable waste powders could be used in the food industry as coloring and flavoring ingredients, or natural preservatives, or either be used to reformulate processed foods in order to improve their nutritional properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas)
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19 pages, 2360 KiB  
Article
The Sustainable Cultivation of Mexican Nontoxic Jatropha Curcas to Produce Biodiesel and Food in Marginal Rural Lands
by Guadalupe Pérez, Jorge Islas, Mirna Guevara and Raúl Suárez
Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5823; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205823 - 20 Oct 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2473
Abstract
The objective of this study is to identify Mexican nontoxic ecotypes of Jatropha curcas with potential for a sustainable agriculture practice to produce biodiesel and food products through a methodology and criteria of sustainability. In a rural region of Morelos state in central [...] Read more.
The objective of this study is to identify Mexican nontoxic ecotypes of Jatropha curcas with potential for a sustainable agriculture practice to produce biodiesel and food products through a methodology and criteria of sustainability. In a rural region of Morelos state in central México, nine Mexican ecotypes of Jatropha curcas were evaluated in an experimental plantation with minimal water resources and fertilization. The experimental trial was assessed in terms of (1) toxicity, (2) growth and survival of the plants, (3) yield of seed, (4) residual biomass production, (5) oil characteristics for biodiesel production, (6) nutrimental properties of the seeds, and (7) changes in the chemical properties of the soil. Finally, two outstanding nontoxic ecotypes were identified as the most suitable for the establishment of Jatropha curcas crops to produce biodiesel and, at the same time, for food products using the de-oiled endosperm cake, for energy production from the residual biomass and for improvement of soil properties in marginal lands of rural regions of Morelos state. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Bioresources, By-Products and Bio-Waste Management in Rural Areas)
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